Not On My Watch
by sakarrie
Summary: Distantly, she could hear someone calling her name, but it all faded as she was transported back to a familiar place, her brother's words echoing in her ears. "Not on my watch!" Pangst! Highlights Pidge's relationships with Lance and Matt.
1. Chapter 1

A/N Hey all! I'm actually super new to posting on here, so would love to hear any tips or anything i may be doing wrong. Anyway, with season 7 dropping and me randomly being impulsive, I decided to post this on here. It was originally for a writing swap prompt thing but it was unfortunately cancelled so I decided I'm going to finish it myself on here.

Personally, I tend to see Lance and Pidge in a brother/sister relationship but it's open to interpretation. I won't lie, sometimes Plance is just too cute to not like.

Anyway, like everyone else on heres, like, follows, and reviews would make my day but no pressure.

On with the story!

* * *

"Pidge!" Lance watched in dismay as the attack sent her flying into the wall. He raced to her side, aiming his blaster at the offending beast's head. Lance quickly took it out, watching for more attackers as Pidge stumbled to her feet. "Can you make it?"

Pidge grimaced. "Yeah, I just can't take more damage."

Walking towards the next room, gun raised, Lance replied, "I've gotcha covered."

The two of them stepped through the doorway. Seeing nothing but a dark chest in the corner, they moved to open it.

"It needs a key." Pidge stated, looking around.

Lance followed her gaze but saw nothing. "It must be on a guard. Let's keep going."

Pidge nodded, following him to the next room. As expected, several guards waited for them.

Rapidly firing at the enemy, Lance took out three of them. Turning to Pidge, he grinned. "Not bad, huh?" In his moment of distraction, however, one of the remaining guards had raised its own gun.

Lance cried out as the blast hit his shoulder. Just as the guard was about fire again, Pidge took it out from behind.

"I thought you were supposed to be covering me?" she smirked.

Lance brushed himself off, grabbing his gun from where it had fallen. "I was!" He squeaked indignantly.

Pidge rolled her eyes as she fired at the remaining guard. She raced over and searched it. Feeling her fingers close around something, she cheered. "Got the key!" She called to Lance, waving it in the air.

"Sweet!" Lance replied, giving Pidge a high five. "Now let's go get that trea-UGH!". Lance's voice cut off in a grunt as he was blasted to the ground.

"Lance!" Pidge cried. Glancing at Lance, she quickly assessed his damage as he stood up. "We can't take much more of this!"

Lance charged at the guard, only to be thrown to the side. "Why isn't it dead? We already got it!"

Pidge narrowed her eyes, thinking the same thing. They must have missed something.

"A little help over here!" Lance called as the guard charged its weapon. That was when Pidge noticed the mark on the back of its uniform. She immediately recognized the symbol and the rank it represented. That was no guard.

"Pidge!" Lance screeched, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"It's a commander!" Pidge called and started to run towards him, halting when the commander turned and blasted her own weapon out of her hand. Stumbling back, she screeched as it stalked towards her. The commander aimed at her again but was interrupted when a voice rang out.

"Not on my watch!"

Pidge gasped, gripping one hand to her head. She'd heard someone say that same thing years ago.

She felt the controller buzz in her hand, signaling that her character had been killed, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Distantly, she could hear someone calling her name, but it all faded as she was transported back to a familiar place, her brother's words echoing in her ears.

"Not on my watch!"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N Hey everyone! Thank you so much for all of the favourites, follows, and reviews! I'm still pretty new to this, but I think I replied to reviews through PM. Let me know if there's a different way I should do it. But really, thank you! It awesome to see so many people enjoying this story. Hopefully as I keep going I'll get better. (:

Anyway, onto chapter 2!

* * *

"Not on my watch!"

Lance's words faded until all she could hear was her brother's voice. The words echoed in Pidge's ears as she stared at her brother, now in between her and the teen holding the knife.

"Matt?" Pidge asked, both relieved and concerned at her brother's intervention.

Matt didn't take his eyes off the boy in front of him, quietly replying, "Don't worry Pidge, I got this." He raised his voice, directing all of his attention on the mugger. "What are you doing Trevor?"

Trevor sneered, apparently not enjoying the recognition. "I wasn't talking to you." he spat. He raised his dagger threateningly.

To Pidge's surprise, though, Matt didn't so much as flinch. "Yeah, you were talking to my little sister." His words were clipped but carefully controlled. Pidge knew what that meant. Her brother was in evaluation mode, assessing their surroundings and searching for an easy escape. Unfortunately though, Pidge had already checked. Not super in the open, no one around, and backed mostly into a corner. The only option she had was to run, but that idea was quickly eliminated when the blade had come out.

Trevor glared back at Matt, a new hatred burning in his eyes. "And what were you gonna do about that, huh? You may have been smart enough to get into the garrison, but strength was never really your thing." His words dripped with venom and Pidge got the feeling this wasn't the first time the mugger and Matt had butted heads.

Matt caught his breath, letting it out slowly. He put his hands up and spoke gently. "Look, I'm sorry that you didn't get in, but you didn't have to drop out. You're bright. You don't have to resort to this."

Pidge pulled on her brother's arm, willing him to step back but he didn't move. She wanted to step in between them but Matt seemed to know what he was doing. Pushing back the need to do something, she decided she'd stay back for now. Hopefully Matt had a plan.

Trevor didn't appear to like what he was hearing though. Puffing out his chest, he snarled. "I wouldn't if it weren't for you. I was put on the waiting list, you know." Baring his teeth, he continued. "You know, I'd probably still be accepted if someone resigned." He raised his knife. "Or was deemed in too poor of condition to continue."

Pidge eyes widened and she felt Matt take a sharp breath. This was getting out of hand. They had to stop this before anyone got hurt.

She braced herself to take a step forward when she felt a gentle squeeze on the hand holding Matt's arm. He had set his own hand on top of hers, slowly prying at the fingers. "It's okay, Katie."

The words were so quiet she almost thought she'd imagined them, but nonetheless, she let go of his arm.

Matt took a tentative step forward. "I get why you're mad, okay? But how about we have a nice civil talk instead." He took a another step. "No one will get in trouble and everything will be just-"

Matt's foot darted out and kicked Trevor's hand, successfully knocking the knife a safe distance away. Blinking, Trevor had no time to recover before Matt had shoved him to the ground. "You forgot that the garrison specifically trains reflexes and agility." He smirked.

Pidge snakes around them, grabbing the knife from where it had fallen. No way was she letting him get that again. She turned around, ready to congratulate her brother, only to see his feet get swept out from under him.

"Matt!" She cried.

Trevor pounced on Matt, the two becoming a mess of limbs and grunts.

That was it. Screw Matt's plan. Nobody touched her brother.

"Get off him!" She yelled, dropping the blade to catch Trevor's arm as he aimed a punch at Matt's face.

Trevor, however, didn't seem dettered. Pidge felt his elbow slam back into her, hitting her directly in the throat.

She gagged and was easily shoved to the side.

"Pidge!" Matt screamed, but was quickly absorbed back into the fight.

Regaining her breath, Pidge staggered to her feet. Time to reassess. As much as she wanted to help Matt, both boys were much larger than her and she was just getting in the way. Looking to her feet, she saw the knife still where she had dropped it.

Her stomach rolled. The blade could change the odds in their favor, but she had never purposely hurt someone before. Definitely not with a knife.

Looking back at where the older boys were rolling around, she realised there was no way she could guarantee she wouldn't hit Matt.

She shook her head, trying to clear it of the morbid thought. No, she had to think about this logically.

Taking one last glance at her brother, she knew what she had to do.

Clenching her jaw, she turned from the fight and ran.

* * *

A/N There you go! Also, I hope none of you thought Pidge was too OOC. This memory probably takes place when she was 11-13 years (still vaguelly unclear about her and Matt's age difference, but I figure he's mid to late teens here.

Anyway, that's all for this chapter. Y'all are awesome! 3


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait. School's just befinning to start up, so I've been working a lot on that.

But thaNks to everyone who's been reading, favouriting, following and reviewing. Seriously is so sweet!

Anyway! Thanks to Spud, my unofficial beta. Love you dork!

On with the story!

* * *

Matt's POV:

Matt screamed as he saw his sister elbowed in the throat, but before he could could retaliate, Trevor was back on him. Raising an arm just in time to block the fist coming to at his face, he rolled the two over til he had the upper hand. He tried to pin him down, but Trevor just kept throwing punches. Matt felt one catch his ear and rolled off, immediately feeling Trevor on top of him again, posed to strike. His hands blocking his face, Matt drove his knee into Trevor's stomach, pushing himself free from his grip.

Finally, a chance to catch his breath. Glancing up to see how Pidge was doing, his eyebrows cinched in confusion. What was she doing? He watched as she set her jaw, turned, and ran.

"Pidge...?" He couldn't comprehend he was seeing. Was Pidge... abandoning him? His face went slack. There was absolutely no way. Pidge was a lot of things, but she definitely wasn't a coward. And when it came to family? Pidge would do anything. He couldn't be-.

His thoughts were cut off by Trevor, who, taking advantage of his distraction, had shoved his fist into his gut.

Matt fell against the hard ground and heard a sickening crack resonate in his head. Fighting to open his eyes, he saw Trevor's face uncomfortably close to his own. His lips were moving and Matt realised Trevor was speaking to him.

"...na pay for destroying my future, freak! That was my spot and it will be again." Trevor's eyes were filled with hatred and Matt could feel fingers begin to close around his throat.

Things were just beginning to fade completely to black when he heard a new voice speak.

"Let go."

He'd know that voice anywhere but never has he heard it filled with so much contempt. Forcing his eyes to open, he saw his sister standing immediately behind Trevor, a deadly look in her eyes.

* * *

Pidge's POV:

Pidge pushed the tip against Trevor's back, careful not to break his skin, but enough for him to feel the pressure.

She saw him tense and his fingers loosened, but not completely. Pidge fought back the protective instincts screaming to just shove him out of the way now, but she had to keep the mugger under control.

Gritting her teeth, she repeated her message. "I said. Let. Him. Go."

Each word was spat out and Pidge felt Trevor flinch. Feeling the need to make sure he understood, he pushed the knife tip a little harder against his shirt. That seemed to be enough and he let go of Matt completely. "Alright! I did! Okay? Take him!"

He shoved Matt to her and she helped keep him steady, briefly worrying about how out of it he seemed before turning her thoughts back to the mugger in front of her.

His eyes darted around widely and Pidge could see him shaking as he shouted "You're whole family is nuts!" She took a step closer, making sure Matt was steady, and raised the knife towards Trevor. He shrunk away in terror but still gathered the nerve to spit at their feet. "What, are you doing? Gonna kill me?" He sneered, but his eyes still twiched nervously.

Pidge kept her knife up, but just then sirens started blaring. She smiled. "Nope. I'm stalling."

Trevor's eyes widened and he made to run but Pidge stepped in his path. "Sorry buddy, but nobody messes with the Holts."

She smirked as officers started rushing over. They quickly took control of the situation, taking the knife from Pidge and pushing Trevor into the back of one of the cars.

An officer came over with a clipboard. "Are you Katie Holt?" Pidge nodded and the lady continued. "You did the right thing calling the police. I assume this is your brother?"

Again Pidge nodded and Matt spoke up nervously. "Are... are we in trouble?"

The lady smiled kindly. "You shouldn't have to worry. You may have seemed suspicious if you hadn't told us about the knife and your plan on the phone." Her tone shifted to scolding. "But it still was unnecessarily dangerous."

Seeing both Pidge and Matt open their mouths in protest, she continued before she could be interrupted. "Anyway, no. You aren't in trouble, but we will need you to answer some questions for us.

* * *

Pidge and Matt walked away from the police cars, laughing. "That was so insane." Pidge commented in awe, her mouth in one of her lopsided smiles.

Matt laughed, hardly believing it himself. "I know! Completely crazy!"

They continued walking for a bit, each still mulling over what had just happened. Eventually, Matt interrupted the silence. "You know, for a bit a there I thought you had left me." He laughed nervously, trying to hide how much that unsettled him.

Pidge looked over, noticing the subtle guardedness in his eyes and replied back in the same light tone. "Left you? Ha! You wouldn't stand a day without me, geek. I didn't leave you. I just decided to use my brain rather than my fists." She smirked, but stared at him, making sure her real message was delivered.

Matt's nervousness fell and she knew he had understood. She smiled, playfully nudging his arm. "Hey, thanks for stepping in back there." She bit her lip, knowing that she was walking the edge of having an emotional talk, but she needed to say it.

Matt snorted. "You're the one who saved me. Remind me to never give you knives. You're horrifying."

The both laughed. Pidge smiled, replying "I guess we make a pretty good team."

Matt looked over at her. "Are you kidding? Two Holts together? We're unstoppable."

Pidge smiled but it quickly fell. "But we won't be together much longer if you get taken away for a mission. I won't even be able to talk to you"

Matt squeezed her shoulder, giving her a sad but reassuring smile. "I know, but we'll find each other again. No matter what."

Pidge nodded, completely trusting her brother, but suddenly, something didn't feel right. She looked up to see that Matt was gone. Where had he gone? He was just here.

Wait a minute. A horrible knowledge flooded into her. No he wasn't. He wasn't just here. He hasn't been here for a long time. Pidge's head span as she realised she could hear a faraway voice. Her hopes flew as she wondered if it was Matt, but no. That wasn't his voice. That was someone else's.

The voice got louder and Pidge found herself in a familiar dark room, the only light coming from the "Game Over" message on the TV screen. A tear falling down her cheek, she was forced back fully into reality. "Lance?"

* * *

As usual, hope you're all enjoying this! The next chapter will probably be the last or second to last chapter, so keep an eye out for that! I've replied to reviews in DMs (still new to this, so tell me if it's not GOing through or something!) Thanks you so much for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the longer wait than usual. My muse has been having tons of ideas for everything BUT this. That being said, I was able to crank this chapter out anyway. Cause you guys are awesome and shouldn't have to wait.

As usual, I've responded to all comments through DM! Thank you all for the kind words! You're all so sweet!

Also, I mentioned this on my Early Risers story, but if you haven't read that, I'm considering setting up a Voltron fanfiction writing swap/prompt/challenge thing, so let me know if you're interested!

Also also, I realised I hadn't been putting disclaimers and, while I feel like it's clear, I'm just gonna put it cause I'm paranoid: I have no ownership over any of the characters, places, or anything relating the the show Voltron.

Anyway, here it is! Final chapter!

Enjoy!

* * *

Lance took his hand off her shoulder, from when he had been shaking her. He ran his fingers through his hair, a horrified expression on his face. "Quiznak, Pidge. Don't do that. That was terrifying."

Pidge wiped the tear off her cheek, still lost in what she had just experienced. "Sorry."

Lance's breaths slowed and he softened his tone. "What just happened, Pidge?" His eyes bore into her, and she could clearly see how scared he had been. She looked away, not wanting to see the pain that she had caused. "I don't know." She said, then added. "A memory."

Lance's eyebrows knitted together. "A memory? Of what?"

Pidge shifted uncomfortably, just like any other time she had to talk about Matt. But she had just scared him to death, she owed him an explanation. "Matt." She said, voice barely audible, but Lance heard it.

His face morphed into one of sympathy. "Dang, sorry Pidge. I didn't mean to..." He trailed off when Pidge started shaking her head.

"It wasn't your fault. Just... something you said reminded me of a time he said the same thing." A time when he was here...

Lance looked down too, seemingly unsure of how to phrase his next words. "Do you... do you have those often? Those... memories?"

Pidge rubbed at her arm, equally unsure of how to respond. "Not..." She sighed and suddenly looked impossibly tired. "Not when I'm awake."

They spent a moment both staring at the ground, trying to figure out what to say. Finally, Lance looked up. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked uncertainly.

Pidge shrugged and, after a moment's hesitation, nodded. She wasn't sure if it would help, but she figured it had to at least be worth a try.

"My brother... We were always so close. Then he got accepted into the garrison and it hit me that he may have to leave me and go on a mission. I was really proud of him for getting in though, I knew he had worked hard on this, so I didn't mention anything. Months went by and I got used to it. It would take a long time of training for Matt to even qualify for a mission. Eventually, I stopped worrying about it and felt secure again." Pidge smiled softly at the thought.

Lance listened quietly, aware that Pidge didn't normally talk about this kind of stuff.

Biting her lip, Pidge continued. "We had a system. Everyday after school, we meet up halfway and walk home together. It took about an hour to walk home, but it ensured we'd have a chance to talk. The time went by fast, anyways." She laughed lightly.. "He'd always say stuff like 'when you get into the garrison' and 'I can't wait to show you'. He had so much faith in me. I could do anything in his eyes." Huffing, her gaze fell. "Obviously he was wrong..."

Lance opened his mouth to protest but Pidge continued before anything could come out. "Anyways, one day while walk to our meeting spot, I was stopped by a mugger."

Lance's eyes widened and she quickly added "Matt arrived before anything happened."

Taking a deep breath, she pursed her lips and fixed her gaze to a spot on the couch. "Not on my watch... That's what he said when he stepped in between us."

Pidge could see guilt flash behind Lance's eyes. "It wasn't your fault. Anything probably could have triggered it. But that memory..." She sighed. "I remember being so scared of what could have happened to him. I was so proud when I arrive with the police and thought I had saved him. But that night, his bruises started showing and I realised that I'd failed. I never wanted to feel that way again, so I swore to myself that I'd always protect him." Her voice began to warble. "But look at me now. It's been over a year and all I've learned is that he's been kidnapped by an evil alien race who could be torturing him this very second!" Tears streamed down her cheeks and suddenly the anger drained out of her. She put a hand to her head, leaning against it. "Some protector I am, huh?"

Suddenly she felt warm arms wrap around her and for a millisecond, it felt like it was Matt. But she knew that wasn't true.

"You can't do that to yourself." Lance's voice was softer and more genuine than Pidge had ever heard it. She didn't know how to respond and, wrapped in his embrace, Pidge broke down sobbing. She missed her family so much. Her dad who, to her knowledge, is being forced to work for the Galra. Her mother, who probably thought she was dead. And her brother. Her best friend. Her idol. Who she had no idea where he was or what he was going through.

People always describe missing someone like having a missing part in your heart, but Pidge felt more like her heart was trying to rip free from her heart and find Matt. She sympathised with it. All she wants to do is find her family, but no matter how hard she tries, she never gets any closer.

Lance started rubbing circles on the small of her back, quietly muttering assurances to her. Once her shaking had stopped, he started speaking again, still holding her. "You know, I have an older sibling too. She sounds a lot like Matt. Smart, brave, protective..." His voice had a faraway tint to it.

Pidge could feel Lance's chest expand as he took a deep breath and let it out slowly before continuing. "And I know that if I were in your situation, she would kick my butt for even thinking like that. He pulled Pidge up and looked into her eyes. "Something tells me Matt would feel the same."

Pidge let out a half laugh, half sob. "I know. I just..." She put a hand up to mouth, shaking her head like she couldn't even form the words.

Lance gently grabbed her wrist and pulled it away from her mouth. "I know." He said, and his words held so much pain that, for the first time, she realised how much Lance was suffering too.

Looking down at their hands, Pidge asked. "How do you do it?"

Lance looked genuinely confused. "Do what?"

"Be so... happy all the time." Pidge said, biting her lip.

Lance shrugged heavily. "I'm not. But I try not to dwell on it too much. Besides, we get to see a lot of good around us too." He smiled at Pidge, squeezing her hand. "Everyday, we're doing crazy, amazing, impossible things. Things I never would have even dreamed were possible." He looked her in the eye, face hopeful. "And I think, why couldn't we do everything our hearts are aching for? Why couldn't we return home to our families? Why couldn't we save your brother? It may take time, but we've done the impossible before." There was a pause, and he looked away, shrugged one shoulder. "At least, that's how I about it."

Pidge threw her arms around his middle, holding him tight. After a slight moment of surprise, Lance melted into the embrace.

"Thank you." Pidge said, her voice muffled by Lance's shoulder.

"Anytime, Pidge." Lance replied, giving her a squeeze.

They stayed there for a moment, basking in the comfort each other provided. Eventually, Pidge pushed away. Wiping at her face, she laughed nervously. "Sorry for slobbering all over your shirt."

Lance tried to look offended, but his ruined it. "How rude!" He exclaimed playfully.

Pidge playfully shoved him, laughing. "Shut up."

Lance smile turned into a grin. "So, what do you say I get changed and we take another stab at this level?"

Pidge returned the grin, a spark in her eyes. "Oh, heck yeah! And this time, there's no WAY we'll lose!"

Lance laughed at her excitement and left to change his shirt, leaving Pidge to ponder everything that just happened. Lance was right. Why couldn't she save her family?

A moment later, Lance reappeared, grin still set on his face. He plopped down on the couch next to her. "You ready?"

Pidge grabbed her remote, face set in determination. "They're going down."

* * *

Wow, can't believe it's over! I know it's only been a month, but this feels almost like finishing an initiation into the fanfic writer world.

So, that being said, I'm sure some of you are wondering what I work on next. Well, I've already written a fic that's just a quick, fun, badbutt!Pidge and another super angsty one that may turn into a longer fic, so those will most-likely be posted somewhat soon. In addition to that, I have lots of ideas that will be posted eventually. If you guys have any thoughts on what I should write, let me know!

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it! Leave me a review if you want to make my day. XD

You guys are amazing!

-Sakarrie (:


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